Ingredients

Olive oil, and butter

2 onions – diced
3 large carrots – sliced
3 stalks celery – sliced
5 cloves garlic – minced

1 ½ to 2 lbs. stewing beef (cut in ½" pieces)
7 Italian tomatoes (diced if fresh) – I use Aylmer diced tomatoes (without the juice)
2 cups Clic barley
11 cups chicken broth
4 cups beef broth
2 cans Clic large red kidney beans

¼ cup fresh Italian parsley – chopped

 

The makinf of...

1. Sauté onions in olive oil and butter until golden and soft. Add carrots and celery, and sauté until soft – do not brown.

2. Add stewing beef and brown. You can remove most of the vegetables while browning beef. When done add the veggies back. Do not brown beef in separate pan – this will kill the taste.

3. Add tomatoes and continue to sauté for a bit.

4. Add chicken and beef broth, salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.

5. Partially cook barley in separate pot to remove most of the starches. Drain and add to soup.

6. Boil soup on medium high until barley is cooked and soup has reduced to a desired thickness.

7. You can use about one cup very cold water with about 4 tsp. of completely dissolved cornstarch to thicken the soup further. Bring soup to a fast boil while doing this.

8. Once barley is cooked, let soup simmer for an additional 30 min. Remove from heat and let it cool for about 15 minutes.

9. Add red beans and parsley.

 

Serve with nice crusty bread.